62 Tasting Notes

50

Like many other Trader Joe tea offerings I find this tea to be “meh”.

The leaves smell almost burnt (I’m thinking it really is cloves that I’m picking up on) and I pick up a very small scent of apple and cinnamon while it steeped.

Unfortunately it is too subtle a tea for my preference. I taste the apple, which is enhanced with some sugar, the flavor is not enough for me.

Not horrible. Not great.

Flavors: Apple, Cinnamon, Cloves

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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40

The recommended time to steep this tea was boiling for 5 minutes but I decided to try 3 minutes and work my way up from there. At 3 mins it was spicy and, imo, not a nice blend of tea. The chocolate verges on bitter so I’m glad I stopped the steep at 3 minutes.

I’ve been mixing this tea with Happy Lucky’s Vanilla Black Tea and then adding a bit of cream. Doing that makes this tea bearable, but it is not a blend I would opt for again.

The only time I would recommend this tea is if someone was looking for a spicy chocolate tea to mix into another tea. The spicy part of this tea is on point but it’s the only part of the tea I enjoyed and that part left me needing a heartburn pill.

Another issue I had with the tea was that it was so fine I had to empty my tea cup after I spooned the tea into my strainer/infuser, before I added the water, otherwise I would have had a bunch of tea remnants floating in my cup. A little is fine, but this was much more than I expected (somewhere between 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon). I’m not sure if this is typical for the tea or if I had just got the bottom of a batch when I purchased it.

Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Spicy

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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55

The smell of the tea is lovely and the flavor of vanilla and the tea came through in a nice and balanced way which I found surprising. I find black tea tends to steal the show against other flavors.

Though I didn’t find the tea displeasing to the palate, it wasn’t something I would pick for myself again. Black tea is a very yes/no tea for me and this one is barely checking the “yes” box even with a bit of sugar and milk.

The next cup I brew I will steep for 2 and 1/2 minutes as 3 minutes still had me picking up on a bit of bitter aftertaste.

EDIT: 2 and 1/2 minutes at boiling and a splash of milk added gave me the best cup of tea from this offering, but did not enhance my rating.

Flavors: Bitter, Tea, Vanilla

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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50

Trader Joe’s tea selections are generally a miss in flavor for me. This tea sits somewhere between a hit and miss.

It’s not entirely bland, but it’s about one step up from it. I enjoy rooibos and pumpkin spice teas but there’s just not enough of any flavor coming through even though I steeped the tea for almost 10 minutes.

I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either. I’ve found adding two sachets to each cup enhanced the flavor enough that I’ll be able to finish the tin, but I won’t be buying it again. There are much better choices for rooibos and pumpkin spice teas.

Flavors: Cinnamon

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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45

I had a bit of a backlog of Happy Lucky’s Teas so tonight I decided to give this one a try as I’ve never had it before. I followed the brewing instructions on the bag and didn’t find it to be strong enough so I steeped the tea for 4 minutes overall. At 4 minutes I hit right on the edge of the tea taking on a bitter aftertaste. I’d stop at 3 and 1/2 minutes on any future brews.

I’m not sure how I feel about this tea. It’s not undrinkable but it’s definitely not something I would buy again. Not, at least as a stand alone hot tea choice and if it would just serve as the base I’d rather another choice. All I can taste is the tea leaves and I get no hint of rose, not even as a subtle undertone.

In the tea’s description they mention it being good as an iced tea so I think I will that a try as I’m not a fan of it hot. I’ll come back to edit my review once I’ve done that. For now my review and rating is unfinished.

EDIT:

So I’ve made the tea as a cold brew and I remain unimpressed. There is almost zero flavor. It is so subtle that I wish I had mixed it with another stronger tea as a base but I wanted to experience the tea as it is. I added sweetener to draw any flavor out of it and am still uninspired thus my final rating remains unchanged at 45.

Flavors: Tea

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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96

Wow! This blend may be my favorite licorice tea flavor I’ve tried thus far.

I steeped a blend of it along with a base tea for 5 minutes at 200 degrees along and it came out fantastic! The color is a nice deep brown and the licorice is outstanding. I even pick up on undertones of the dates.

I love licorice tea and I cannot believe I’ve left this tea sitting in my cupboard for so long! It won’t last now that I’ve gotten around to making some!

I’ll still keep my Stash Licorice tea as a back-up but this is now my go-to for licorice tea.

EDIT: On a sad note, during my last visit, I was informed this tea would no longer be offered so I bought up their remaining stock. (I believe the issue was due to sourcing dates in the tea.) Bummer. Was my favorite tea holding the highest rating I’ve given to the teas I’ve rated thus far.

Flavors: Dates, Licorice

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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45

This was the second of a three pack sampler I ordered from Golden Moon Tea.

I steeped the tea for, initially, 3 and 1/2 minutes but it was so weak I put it back in for a total of 5 minutes and I feel like I should have steeped it for longer but it began to develop a bitter aftertaste so I would limit another steep to 4 and 1/2 minutes.

The tea is very subtle. So subtle it reminds me of drinking a watery mouthwash. I don’t like it, at all, and I tend to like mint teas in small servings (1-2 cups).

The coloring is lovely, a golden yellow, so I was anticipating a lovely brew, so it was a letdown that the flavor did not carry through.

I have to say I had no trouble tasting the green tea, which was a nice surprise.

While 2 of the 3 teas I’ve sampled from Golden Moon Tea have been a letdown I would buy other teas from them. I think its just the samples I received not being my style and not so much the quality of tea I’ve received. I’m not a fan of gunpowder style teas which is probably why this mint tea was a miss for me.

Flavors: Herbaceous, Mint, Spearmint, Tea

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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60

I received this tea as part of a sampler pack from Golden Moon. It’s not a tea I would have selected for myself as I tend to not be a fan of chais.

For my first steep, I did 200 degrees for 5 minutes and it was far too bitter for me. I found it nearly undrinkable so for my second steep I opted for 200 degrees for 3 and 1/2 minutes and it came out very nice.

I don’t tend to like ginger in my tea but this ginger was subtle as was the cinnamon, giving just a slight bit of spiciness with each sip. I found that to be a nice balance.

I grabbed a bit of creamer and added it to my second steep after a couple sips plain. I felt it enhanced the flavor but this is one of the few chais where I didn’t find it absolutely necessary for me to drink the tea. That is quite the compliment, as, again, I don’t generally like chais.

While not a tea I prefer, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Ginger, Spicy

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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40
drank Green Tea Kombucha by Yogi
62 tasting notes

Yogi is a brand, along with Trader Joe’s and Celestial Seasonings, that I should give up on. I keep trying these teas with the hopes that I’ll find one that I really enjoy but they more often than not let me down.

I recognize that bagged teas are typically not of the same quality of loose leaf selections, but I’d like options for budget teas when I’m in-between paychecks.

The scent of this tea is, as expected, lovely, but the flavor is mediocre. It’s not as bad as some of the other teas I’ve had from Yogi, but the flavor is too mild for my liking.

I initially steeped the bag for 3 mins at boiling but opted to add the bag back to my cup. At 4 minutes it was almost to what I’d consider (barely) acceptable so I chose to steep it for a total of 5 minutes before removing the bag.

At 5 minutes the tea was a deep yellow color and the herbal flavor was prominent with a very light mint aftertaste. Unfortunately, while not undrinkable, the flavors were still far too subtle for my liking and steeping for five minutes began to push the limits creating a very mild unfavorable aftertaste from it being steeped for so long.

This is something I’d recommend to someone craving a subtle flavored tea, but not something I’d recommend for someone like me.

Flavors: Lemon, Lemongrass, Mint

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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40

It has a nice aroma but the flavors come through very subtle. A bit too subtle for my liking. I’ll be able to finish the box, but won’t be repurchasing.

Flavors: Herbs, Lemongrass

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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